Puzzle Quest 2 Previews

Thanks to last weekend's PAX East event, we now have even more firsthand impressions of Puzzle Quest 2 to sift through.

Co-Optimus:
As far as the gameplay, Puzzle Quest 2 has moved away from the "move about a map and fight random battles" style, to a model that's "move about a dungeon and fight random battles." Although, with that dungeon crawler mechanic, comes a new loot system that includes rare and epic pieces of equipment that your character can wear. These items will give your character additional stats and power boosts, and they also have more of an impact in the puzzle gem battles this time around. The gold and XP gems have been removed from the game (these are now awarded after a battle only) and in their place is a new type of mana (purple) and a gem that resembles a fist, which allows you attack the enemy with whatever weapon you have equipped. Attacking with a weapon brings with it a chance to deal a critical hit, the chance of which can be increased with character abilities.

The Flickcast:
Gameplay was familiar and any changes were easy to adapt to. While I didn't get a chance to try out the DS version of the game, the Xbox Live version looked great and may have even convinced me to pick up on there instead of for the handheld. Along with the story mode that I tried in the demo, there's also Instant Action, Multiplayer, and Tournament modes of the game.

And GayGamer:
Playing as the Barbarian I also had at my disposal myriad skills that ranged from attacks like Pummel (light damage) and more indirect options like Enrage (floods the puzzle map with red gems). Each provided different ways to approach the battle. Like the first game, each skill requires you to fill certain mana requirements before it becomes available.